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Desperate
Plot After a young boy witnesses the brutal sexual assault and murder of his stepmother, his father blocks the efforts of the detectives to question him. Summary A resident at a Hell's Kitchen apartment building calls the fire department after smelling smoke in another unit. Firefighters break down the door & find food burning on the stove, a frightened 6-year-old boy named Mikey, & his badly injured mother. The mother had also been raped & sodomized. Barely alive when the fire department arrived, she dies at the hospital during surgery. Although she didn't die in her apartment, her attacker's guilty of murder. Since she died during surgery, that's why her attacker's guilty of murder. The killer's DNA, semen, & fingerprints aren't on the victim. The mother's purse & all other identifying information were taken by her killer. Killer's DNA, semen, & fingerprints aren't inside the victim's apartment. Basically, cops are unable to find killer's DNA, semen, & fingerprints for this investigation. A urine stain on the hallway carpet outside the bedroom suggests that Mikey witnessed the assault, & was so terrified by what he saw, he wet his pants. The apartment landlord identifies the mother as Dana McGuire. She had moved in a month ago, paying cash up front for three months. Her driver’s license had listed an upscale Central Park address. Dana McGuire’s alive & well at the address on the license. Her purse had been stolen in a mugging some time before. The mugger, who's serving six months at Rikers, met the fake Dana in a diner & gave her the license after she told him she couldn't find work because she had no ID. He knew her as Jill, & her son as Tommy. Warner determines that Jill probably hadn't been able to have children, & that Tommy definitely isn't her biological child. None of the police reports shows that Tommy was reported missing & kidnapped. Tommy likes to draw, & he draws pictures of Jill's murder & of himself holding hands with Olivia. Olivia tries to draw him out about what happened to Jill. He reaches for her cell phone, & she gives it to him. He dials 911. Olivia asks Tommy if he knows his home number, & he tosses the phone down on the table. When she asks if he knows any other numbers, such as those one might call in an emergency, he dials the Domestic Violence Hotline. A compassionate hotline worker identifies Jill as Jill Hoffman, & expresses her disgust that Jill's husband finally did it. Dan Hoffman’s a violent, abusive monster who completely isolated Jill from the world. After three weeks at a safe house, Jill returned home long enough to get Tommy. But then the domestic violence workers couldn't shelter her, because as Tommy's stepmother she had no legal right to take the boy from his father. They did find her a pro bono attorney to help her fight for legal custody. The pro bono attorney's a woman. The attorney tells Elliot & Olivia that Dan started abusing Jill shortly after their wedding two years ago. Kim, Dan's first wife & Tommy's biological mother, had left a year before that; Dan probably abused her too. Dan had psychologically terrorized his son, but hadn't laid a hand on him...yet. Jill had known that Dan's crossing that line was only a matter of time She never made a domestic violence complaint again because her husband’s "Mr. Pillar-of-the-Community" in their exclusive small town of Rye, nobody would believe he's a batterer. Stabler & Benson suspect that the attorney allowed Jill to take Tommy away from Dan. After Jill took Tommy away from Dan, Jill & Tommy moved into Hell's Kitchen Apartment Building. The attorney denies that she allowed Jill to take Tommy away from Dan. Although they couldn't prove it, they were glad that the attorney allowed Jill to take Tommy away from Dan. Tommy tells Olivia that he & Jill had run away from his father. Jill was going to find them a new home, someplace far away where his father wouldn't find them. Just as Tommy's going to talk about Jill's murder, Dan Hoffman storms in. Tommy's clearly terrified, but he's been medically cleared & released to the custody of his father. Dan's alibi for the night of Jill’s murder is being at a business association dinner dance. The event was held at a place only five minutes from Jill’s apartment. Several attendees confirm that Dan was there. They also remember that he disappeared for about 45 minutes during the evening, then reappeared. Since it's presumed that police checked every dumpster between the dinner dance & Jill's apartment, it's also presumed that they didn't find evidence including Jill's blood. Alex Cabot tries, unsuccessfully, to get Judge Ridenour's permission for George Huang to interview Tommy. To prove he’s not the monster the police think he is, Dan submits to a police interview. He plays the loving father & grieving widower only too well for Elliot & Olivia's taste, having the right answer for every question they ask. Dan says, "During the dinner, I went outside to talk with some people, but I don't know their names. I didn't know that Jill's apartment was nearby. If I knew about Jill's location, then I would've asked her & Tommy to come home. I wanted Tommy back. If Jill wanted to leave, then I still wanted Tommy back." When Olivia tells him she doesn't buy his act, his good-guy mask slips just a bit as he replies, You wouldn't dare talk to me that way if you didn't have that badge & gun. Munch finds a new checking account in the name of Dana McGuire, but it's actually Jill's account. She had deposited some paychecks from Benny's Topless into the account. Another Benny's entertainer tells Elliot & Olivia that although Jill was a lousy dancer, she was hired because she looked like Susie Homemaker. Many of Benny's customers are commuters who stop in before heading home to the suburbs. Jill quit in a panic the previous week, after seeing someone from her former hometown in the crowd one night. Before they left, she tells them to 'nail the prick.' The credit card receipts from that night lead to a Mr. Rizzo, from Rye. To keep his wife from finding out he's not working heavy overtime, he gladly reveals, "When I went back to my home, I called Dan's phone. I told Dan about the stripper who looked exactly like Jill." Rizzo figured it was a great laugh. Elliot & Olivia talk to Alex Cabot, pointing out that once Dan knew where Jill worked, all he had to do was follow her home. If Dan killed Jill, then Dan dumped bloody clothing & gloves atleast 100 miles away. Their circumstantial information is enough for an arrest, but Dan's a very handsome, successful, charismatic man, fully capable of charming a grand jury into not indicting him. Therefore Alex obtains a silent indictment, which gets Dan indicted & arrested for Jill's murder, without giving him an opportunity to testify before the grand jury. Although hearsay rule's acceptable in some cases, Ridenour won't allow witnesses to testify that Jill told them she was being abused by Dan because it violates Dan's right to talk to his accuser. Dan's accuser was Jill. Jill's dead, so Dan can't talk to Jill anymore & that's how it violates Dan's right to talk Jill. Tommy's testimony would convict Dan only if Dan's guilty, but SVU's still barred from talking to the boy. Alex asks about Kim Hoffman, who as Tommy's biological mother has every right to talk to him. Elliot replies that SVU hasn't been able to find her. Captain Cragen tells the detectives to find someone who'd known Kim. Allen Wheaten, the Hoffmans' longtime neighbor, knew Kim was being physically abused because he saw the injuries. He believes Dan murdered Kim, because late one night he saw a van pull into Dan's driveway. Someone filled the van with garbage bags & drove off. The next day, Kim was gone. Wheaten contacted the Rye police with the van's license plate number & his suspicion that Kim was murdered. The van belonged to a Dawn Trent, a soccer mom from Port Chester who said she'd been delivering Girl Scout cookies. Case closed. Dawn Trent tells Elliot that she had helped Kim escape that night from her abusive situation. Kim didn't take Tommy with her then because Dan was on the verge of killing her; she had to leave fast. She hoped to return for her son once she was settled elsewhere. Dawn belongs to a group which rescues domestic violence victims & passes them from one person to another, eventually resettling them far away from their abusers. All any rescuer knows is the next link in the chain. Elliot follows the chain of Kim's rescuers, locates Kim & tells her everything that's happened. Kim tearfully tells Elliot that she had gone back for Tommy, only to see him happily playing on the front lawn with Jill & calling her Mommy. Kim then thought Tommy was better off there, because what did she have to offer him. Elliot persuades Kim to come back for Tommy's sake. Dan probably killed Jill, but if Kim doesn't come back for Tommy, then Tommy won't be able to testify due to (fear of Dan) & jury will believe that Dan didn't kill Jill. If Dan gets released from the courtroom, then Tommy will be returned to Dan's custody. At the courthouse where Dan's trial’s in progress, Kim talks to Tommy in the hallway. The bond between mother & son's reestablished. When Tommy's called to testify, he & his mother walk into the courtroom together. Since Dan realizes that police located Kim, Dan's little scared because Tommy probably has courage to testify. On the witness stand, Tommy's too terrified of Dan to speak, & Ridenour allows Tommy to step down without testifying. As Alex leads Tommy past the defense table to leave, Dan flashes him a big smile & says, I love you, son. Tommy looks at Kim sitting nearby, & then quietly tells Dan, "You killed Jill." Priscilla asks for a mistrial, as Ridenour calls for order in the court amongst the murmuring observers. Dan's good-guy mask slips off as he coldly says, "Tommy, you listen to me. Don't do this." Tommy turns to Alex & agrees to testify. Dan can only watch in silent, seething rage as his own son returns to the witness stand. As Tommy sits down, he glares at his father with steely, righteous defiance that not even his father's most violent abusive fury will shake. Cast Main cast * Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler * Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson * Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch * Stephanie March as A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot * Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola (credit only) * B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang * Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen Recurring cast * Harvey Atkin as Judge Alan Ridenour * Jordan Gelber as CSU Technician Layton * Tamara Tunie as Dr. Melinda Warner Guest cast * Rob Estes as Dan Hoffman * Signy Coleman as Kim Hoffman * Max Jansen Weinstein as Mikey / Tommy Hoffman * Haviland Morris as Dawn Trent * Adam LeFevre as Rye Police Chief * Suzanne Shepherd as Old Woman * Stephen Mailer as Mr. McGuire * Rita Gardner as Neighbor * Welker White as Jill Hoffman's Attorney * Sandra Bernhard as Attorney Priscilla Chaney * Lord Jamar as Leon * P.J. Benjamin as Lloyd Jackson * Michele Santopietro as Mandy * Richard Thomsen as Allen Wheaten * Mark Lotito as Mike Rizzo * Kate Goehring as Dr. Sally Ivers * Christy Baron as Ariana Kane * Michelle Hurst as Vita Weldon * Amy Love as Dana McGuire * Tom Bruno as Firefighter #1 * John E. Mack as Firefighter #2 * Libby George as Woman #2 * Kate Middleton as Woman #1 * Melanie Nicholls-King as Woman #3 * Rick Johnson as Court Clerk * Amy Dorris as Jill Hoffman (uncredited) References References Quotes *'Dan': (after Tommy fails to testify) I love you, son. *'Tommy': (looks at his mother sitting nearby, then quietly says to his father) You killed Jill. (court gasps) *'Priscilla': Your honor, I move for a mistrial! *'Judge Ridenour': Order, order! *'Dan': (frantically) Tommy, listen to me. Don’t do this. *'Tommy': (to Alex) I'm ready. I can do this now. ---- *'Priscilla': We request a speedy trial date. My client is eager to prove his innocence. An opportunity the ADA denied him in the Grand Jury. *'Alex': The District Attorney is under no obligation to inform... *'Judge Ridenour': I know the law, Miss Cabot. I also know your reputation for bending it. ---- *'Alex': Well, he wouldn't be a single parent if he hadn't killed his wife. ---- *'Benson': You've got an answer for everything, don't you. I'm not buying your 'loving father' act. Tommy's terrified of you. *'Dan': My son is everything to me. I would die for my son. *'Benson': Tommy almost died for you. You killed Jill and then you left him alone in that apartment. And had firefighters not responded so fast, you'd be burying him along with your dead wife. *'Dan': You wouldn't dare talk to me like that if you didn't have that badge and gun. ---- *'Trent': It's the same old story, Detective. Your husband's the nicest guy in town, but every night when he comes home, he beats you. He degrades you. He tortures you. And who's going to believe that the "Man of the Year" is a batterer? And you can't just leave. There's nowhere to hide in a small town. The only solution is to get away, far away, and start over. But that takes money. And help. *'Stabler': And that's what you provide? *'Trent': Not just me. A group of us. *'Stabler': What is this, some kind of DV Underground Railroad? *'Trent': You could call it that. ---- Background information and notes Background information and notes Episode scene cards Category:SVU episodes